China's official services PMI slowed to 53.7 percent in September from 56.3 in August, highlighting the economy's seventh straight quarter of slowdown, while Australia posted weak export data. Chinese markets were closed for holidays.

Export-led emerging markets are heavily dependent on growth in China. Benchmark emerging equities eased 0.1 percent. Russian stocks lost as much as one percent as Brent crude futures

slipped below $111 per barrel.

The rand

weakened to four-week lows amid broad falls in commodity currencies and after Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said this week that current levels of foreign flows into South Africa's bond market were not sustainable.

"All of a sudden a series of bad news is there," said Gaelle Blanchard, emerging FX strategist at SocGen.

"We have the Moody's downgrade which had a bit of a negative impact on the currency and we have all this unrest in the mining sector."

Moody's cut South Africa's rating to Baa1 from A3 last week, while wildcat mining strikes spread to the iron ore sector on Wednesday.

Poland's zloty steadied against the euro

ahead of a rate decision which analysts polled by Reuters expect will bring interest rates down 25 basis points to 4.5 percent.